Louisville’s Ware to transfer

Louisville guard Kevin Ware will continue his playing career next year, but it won’t be with the Louisville Cardinals.

ESPN’s Jeff Goodman reported Saturday that the junior will be leaving the Louisville program in the hopes of transferring closer to his family in Georgia.

Ware gained national attention during last year’s NCAA Tournament when he broke his leg in a win over Duke in the Elite Eight.

Ware made his return to the court on Nov. 6 in an exhibition game against Pikeville College before scoring five points in 13 minutes on Nov. 13 in his regular-season debut against Cornell.

Ware, who averaged 1.7 points in nine contests with the Cardinals this season, took a medical redshirt after Louisville’s contest against Missouri State on Dec. 17. Ware was incidentally struck in the leg against Missouri State.

Ware’s impact on the program has diminished since January and a team spokesman stated in a March 25 article with Lousville’s Courier-Journal that Ware had not been attending practices, but that he was still enrolled in classes at the university.

In the same article, Ware’s mother, Lisa Junior, stated that she believed Ware would return to Louisville next season.

Ware tweeted Tuesday, “I ain’t never leaving this place bro. Neverr!”

Two potential landing spots for Ware could be at Georgia State and Auburn. Ware committed to current Auburn coach Bruce Pearl while Pearl was the head coach at Tennessee.

Ware averaged 13.2 points, 4.1 assists, 3.9 rebounds and 2.2 steals as a senior at Rockdale County High School. Ware and the Bulldogs finished with a 26-6 record his senior year, reaching the state finals. Ware was a first-team all-state selection as a senior.